Summary
The Christiana Solar Farm, located in Rutherford County, Tennessee, is a pioneering utility-scale solar project that pairs regenerative cattle ranching with local clean energy production. The project serves as the initial commercial deployment site for Silicon Ranch’s patented cattle-compatible agrivoltaics platform, CattleTracker™. This system is designed to produce renewable energy, pasture-raised meats, and functioning grassland ecosystems on the same acre. Built using made-in-America equipment and owned and operated by Silicon Ranch for Middle Tennessee Electric (MTE), the Christiana Solar Farm produces clean, reliable energy and improves grid reliability for MTE members while improving ecosystem health and preserving Middle Tennessee’s agricultural heritage by keeping land in active farm production.
American-Made Energy Powering American Agriculture
Christiana Solar Farm generates energy using made-in-America solar panels, trackers, and torque tubes, bolstering U.S. manufacturing and employing U.S. workers.
- First Solar Modules: Perrysburg, Ohio
- Nextpower Torque Tubes: Memphis, Tennessee
- Federal Pacific Switchgear: Bristol, Virginia
- Eaton Transformer: Waukesha, Wisconsin
- Shoals Combiner Boxes: Portland, Tennessee
- Qualico Steel Piles: Webb, Alabama
The project lays the groundwork for a significant boost for both America’s cattle ranchers and renewable energy. By opening up vast stretches of land for two purposes at once, it promises to help secure a steadier supply of both food and power for Americans.
Land Stewardship
Through the use of regenerative cattle grazing to manage the land rather than traditional mowing and chemicals, we are healing the land—improving soil health, boosting water infiltration and retention, and increasing carbon sequestration. The land will be more fertile, more resilient to extreme weather, and better at supporting wildlife than when we found it.
CattleTracker at Christiana: A Research Backed, Award-Winning Solution
Backed by a cross-sector research team and federally funded studies through 2026, CattleTracker at Christiana is more than a concept—it’s a field-tested, evidence-based solution built to scale across America’s agricultural landscape that won the 2026 SEAL Sustainable Innovation Award.
CattleTracker is the culmination of research and development by a multidisciplinary team of agrivoltaics experts, animal welfare scientists, regenerative ranchers, and soil and ecosystem scientists from across the country and around the world. It builds and expands on Silicon Ranch’s nationally recognized work in sheep grazing.
Cattle present bigger challenges for the researchers, literally. Solar panels can be vulnerable to damage from the greater weight and height of grazing cows versus compact sheep that can easily walk underneath them. The living laboratory at Christiana will enable researchers to study cattle behavior, welfare, and ecological impacts while simultaneously testing solar installation structures.
Christiana Solar is the latest proof that energy production and farming don’t have to compete—they actually work hand in hand, thriving together.
Facts & Figures
3.25 MWac
Locally Produced Renewable Energy Capacity
500
Tennessee Homes that Christiana Solar Farm can Power Annually
40
Acres of Land Regeneratively Grazed to Restore Soil Health & Support the Agricultural Economy
$9,000,000
Capital Investment for Local Economic Growth
$600,000
New Tax Revenues Over 40 Years to Fund Local Priorities
30
Jobs Created
